Please select your home edition
Edition
Rooster 2025

Transpacific Yacht Race - The perfect ride?

by Kimball Livingston on 19 May 2011
Pegasus - Transpacific Yacht Race SW
*Transpacific Yacht Race 2011.

What would a perfect Transpac ride? Well, that would depend on what you're doing, this time. Philippe Kahn was quite pleased back in 2009 when he and Mark Christiansen set a new double-handed record in the Open 50 named Pegasus but, for 2011 the maestro of mobile software will be going retro.


After seven months in the shed at Dencho Marine, Kahn's Andrews 70 has been 'de-turboed' as he says: 'We cut 12 feet off the mast, shortened the fin and went to a smaller bulb with a few thousand pounds of lead in the bilge. We also took out the bow sprit, and the new, shorter pole gybes easily inside the forestay. Combine that with a simplified deck, and three to five of us can handle her at full potential in 35 knots of wind. A perfect Transpac ride!'

Pegasus 70 is now close to the configuration of a stock Santa Cruz 70, Kahn says. 'We plan to sail her surfing to Honolulu like a Moore 24 as opposed to sailing across the waves, reaching, like a Melges 24. I surf, and I love surfing, and what we want is to have fair racing with the other 70s using the Transpac ORR rating. We hope to get more people wanting to do this and have some great Pacific Ocean sailing.' Gee, it seems only yesterday that the cool thing was to go 'turbo.'

The upper end of the fleet for the 2011 race has seven 70-footers entered, two 68-footers and, of course, good ole Ragtime. The fleet has two starts, July 4 and July 8, and no one is more qualified to decide how he wants to do it 'this time' than Philippe Kahn. He has sailed 12 races to Hawaii, three of them double-handed.

The new record he set in 2009 with Christiansen stands at seven days, 19 hours, which got them to the Diamond Head Buoy ahead of all the 70s, turboed or un, and lopped two days off the double-handed record.

He was already a more accomplished sailor-competitor than most, years ago, when he declared to your reporter, 'I have to learn how to sail before I die.'

Transpacific Yacht Race: Website

* The first start fo the Transpac Race to Honolulu is scheduled for Monday July 4th at 1300 and the second for Friday July 8th at 1300.
Selden 2020 - FOOTERX-Yachts X4.3Switch One Design

Related Articles

Long Beach Olympic Classes Regatta day 3
Mother Nature teases the competitors Mother Nature teased the competitors today and made them wait a bit, but she did not disappoint; the sun came out and a big westerly built to 18-20 knots!
Posted today at 5:22 pm
A century of human endeavour
The Fastnet Race is regarded as one of offshore sailing's most complete proving grounds For 100 years, the Rolex Fastnet Race has been regarded as one of offshore sailing's most complete proving grounds. It is a place where ambitions and dreams meet harsh reality, where skill, endurance and fortitude are severely tested.
Posted today at 10:14 am
Martine Grael in Racing on the Edge
First female driver to win a Fleet Race captured in behind-the-scenes documentary Major milestone moment for SailGP captured in behind-the-scenes documentary series, which reaches 10 million total viewers since launching in 2021.
Posted today at 8:45 am
Get ready to celebrate world's best sailing photos
16th edition of the Pantaenius Yacht Racing Image Award Professional photographers from around the globe are invited to submit their best yacht racing images captured between October 14, 2024, and October 12, 2025.
Posted today at 7:15 am
Alli Bell & Restless crew to make Transpac history
On course to be the first woman skipper to win Transpac overall Alli Bell and the crew of her Cal 40 Restless took a winch handle to the notion that winning the Transpacific Yacht Race's top corrected-time prize requires membership in an old-boys club or a mighty war chest.
Posted today at 6:28 am
Rolex Fastnet Race IRC Four preview
The pinnacle of grass roots sailing has 97 entries The very largest yachts, including the 100ft Ultim foiling trimarans and 60ft IMOCAs are an essential part of the spectacle of the Fastnet Race, however a critical element in the race's enduring appeal is that this is predominately a grass roots event.
Posted on 14 Jul
Long Beach Olympic Classes Regatta day 2
Classic Long Beach conditions return The weather conditions at the Long Beach Olympic Classes Regatta shifted noticeably today, delivering the classic Long Beach breeze that many expect from this world-class venue.
Posted on 14 Jul
NYYC International Women's Championship update
Third group of skippers includes Nicole Breault, Dominique Proyoveur, Laura van Veen While there is no nationality requirement for the crews that will compete in the 2026 New York Yacht Club International Women's Championship, a number of teams are embracing the opportunity to wave their respective national flags at the debut edition.
Posted on 14 Jul
The Sardinia Cup set to return in 2026
The competition will make its long-awaited return to the waters of the Costa Smeralda The Yacht Club Costa Smeralda (YCCS) is pleased to announce the return of the Sardinia Cup, one of the Club's most iconic regattas and a renowned international sailing event.
Posted on 14 Jul
How inclusive is sailing?
Largest global survey aims to find out The Magenta Project has today launched the 2x25 global survey, marking the start of the most ambitious equity and inclusion review ever undertaken in sailing and the wider marine industry.
Posted on 14 Jul